FTA Honors Two Companies in Environmental Excellence Awards Competition

SAN ANTONIO—MARCH 18, 2012—The Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) is proud to announce that this year it is recognizing two companies in the 12th Annual FTA Environmental Excellence Award program. Promoflex International of St. Leonard, QC, Canada took top honors in the competition and The Label Printers of Aurora, IL earned an honorable mention.

Promoflex International believes in the need to protect the environment. It strives to prevent pollution by reducing the amount of waste generated by its production cycle. The company raises the awareness of its workforce toward environmental issues by providing them with adequate training and by implementing an efficient internal communication network to promote its philosophy.

Promoflex’s environmental program is extensive and comprehensive. To reduce its environmental footprint, Promoflex joined the EnviroClub program. The company uses the heat generated by air compressors to heat the facility. Lighting fixtures have been replaced with state-of-the-art technology to reduce energy use. Their solvent recycling program resulted in reducing solvent purchases by more than 1,000 liters over a nine month period. A corrugated recycling program reduced waste by 3 tons annually. The plant has reduced its overall carbon footprint by 30 tons per year. All profits generated from Promoflex’s recycling program are to be donated to social causes, such as the local guide dog foundation.

The Label Printers earned an honorable mention in this year’s competition. The company continually evaluates every aspect of purchasing, operations and waste generation. Its “Go Green, Save Green and Earn Green!” program is built on the premise that the company can not only reduce costs by being a better environmental steward, but that sustainability initiatives can also generate savings and revenue.

As a result of the program, almost 70 percent of what had previously been solid waste and sent to a landfill is either recycled or converted from waste to energy. The company diverted more than nine tractor-trailer loads of waste from landfills including returning almost 1,000,000 linear feet of stock to the process stream.

Judge Heather Barrett of MacDermid Printing Solutions summarized the competition by saying, “It's exciting to see all these companies get creative in how they meet the sustainability challenge and how they engage their employees in their efforts. They are setting an excellent example for the rest of us to follow.”

The FTA Environmental Excellence Awards were presented on March 18, 2012, at the FTA Annual Forum in San Antonio, TX. For more information about the competition, contact Doreen M. Monteleone at 631-737-6020 ext. 30.

About FTA/FFTA: Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), chartered in 1958, is a professional society dedicated to bringing all members of the flexographic printing community—printers, suppliers, consumer product companies, institutions, prepress houses and others--together by providing opportunities for the free exchange of technical ideas and discussion of mutual concerns. It is a proponent of maintaining and advancing quality standards and includes 1,650 member sites that represent more than 1,400 companies and 60,000 individuals. Foundation of FTA, founded in 1974, is the educational arm of FTA and is dedicated to supporting and advancing the flexographic printing industry.